Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel greets fans on the Vol Walk ahead of the NCAA college football game against Alabama on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Knoxville. Tenn.

Meet the 12 CFP Title Contenders: No. 9 Tennessee

No. 9. Tennessee Volunteers
10-2 (6-2 SEC)

What’s next: vs. 8 Ohio State, Columbus, Ohio, Dec. 21, 8 p.m. ET

Head coach: Josh Heupel (fourth season at Tennessee, 37-14; seventh season overall, 65-22)

About Heupel: In addition to chasing Tennessee’s first national championship since 1998, Heupel — the quarterback of Oklahoma’s 2000 BCS title team — can join the exclusive company of Frank Leahy, Bud Wilkinson and Jimmy Johnson as national champs both as football players and head coaches.

Resume
Repeatedly coming through in the clutch, five of Tennessee’s eight SEC games were each decided by 10 points or fewer – including a signature win, 24-17, over fellow contender Alabama on Oct. 19.

Postseason history
The last of Tennessee’s six claimed national championships came in 1998, the inaugural season of the BCS. After more than a decade of disappointment, the 2022 Vols’ 31-14 Orange Bowl rout of Clemson matched UT’s best finish since 2001.

Road to Atlanta
Winning at The Horseshoe in Columbus is the first order of business for the Vols, and No. 1 Oregon is waiting in the wings. That game would be played Jan. 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

Names to know
RB Dylan Sampson
Despite already setting the program records for rushing yards (1,485) and touchdowns (22) in a season, Sampson was not named a finalist for the Doak Walker Award, given to college football’s top running back.

Speaking with radio host Jim Rome, Sampson was unfazed.

“My coach … knows the value and I know the value I have to this team,” he said. “They’ll see what I do as we continue to make this playoff run.”

DE James Pearce Jr.
A likely top-10 NFL draft pick, Pearce endured a slow start to 2024 as a result of opposing offenses throwing double- and triple-team blocking schemes at him. Vols defensive coordinator Tim Banks promised reporters in September that “the sacks will come.”

Banks was correct. Of Pearce’s 7.5 sacks, seven have been since the beginning of October. He has also racked up 10 of his 11 tackles for loss in that eight-game stretch.

CB Jermod McCoy
The most spectacular of McCoy’s four regular-season interceptions was also pivotal for the Vols’ playoff aspirations. In the finale at Vanderbilt, with Tennessee trailing 17-7 in the second quarter, McCoy battled Commodores receiver Junior Sherrill down the sideline in pursuit of a deep ball thrown to the end zone.

McCoy’s deflection and catch of the carom from his back denied Vanderbilt a score and helped ignite a Tennessee rally to a 36-23 win. It provided a highlight-reel moment in an all-around sensational sophomore season for the cornerback.

QB Nico Iamaleava
The former No. 1 overall ranked high-school recruit moved into the starting position full-time as a redshirt freshman and has endured growing pains amid flashes of brilliance. Iamaleava opened the season with a bang, throwing for five touchdown passes in the Vols’ first two games, but then went the next six games with a total of only four touchdown throws.

Ending the regular season with back-to-back four-touchdown games sends Iamaleava into the postseason on a high note. He has also used his 6-foot-6 frame effectively as a ball-carrier with 317 rushing yards, 124 of which came in the last four weeks.

WR Dont’e Thornton Jr.
Although the rush has been more reliable for Tennessee’s offense than the pass has, the Vols have one of the most-intriguing, big-play threats in the nation with Thornton at wide receiver. Almost a quarter of his 25 total receptions have gone for touchdowns (six), and his 25.9 yards per catch lead the nation.
Combined with 6-foot-3 Bru McCoy, the 6-foot-5 Thornton gives Tennessee a potentially dangerous physical mismatch against most opposing secondaries.

–Field Level Media

Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard (18) and linebacker Cody Simon (0) walk off the field during the second half of the NCAA football game against the Michigan Wolverines at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. Michigan won 13-10.

Meet the 12 CFP Title Contenders: No. 8 Ohio State

8. Ohio State Buckeyes
10-2 (7-2 Big Ten regular season)

What’s next: First round vs. No. 9 Tennessee

Head coach: Ryan Day (Sixth season; 66-10 overall)

About Day: The 45-year-old was a quarterback at the University of New Hampshire from 1998-2001 when Chip Kelly, now the offensive coordinator at Ohio State, was an assistant coach for the Wildcats.

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Ohio State rebounded from a one-point loss at No. 1 Oregon to reach the No. 2 spot. The Buckeyes then defeated No. 3 Penn State and No. 5 Indiana before being shocked as a 20-point favorite by unranked Michigan in the regular-season finale.

Postseason history
Ohio State lists eight national championships although two (1961, 1970) were not recognized by the AP and UPI wire services. The Buckeyes most recent title was for the 2014 season, defeating Oregon 42-20 in the inaugural CFP championship in January 2015.

The road to Atlanta
To reach the national championship game, No. 8 Ohio State would need to tip Tennessee in a game in Columbus and then take down No. 1 Oregon in the quarterfinals. That would bring a matchup in the semifinals against Arizona State, Texas or Clemson.

Names to know
QB Will Howard
Transferring after four seasons at Kansas State, Howard was all-in on the rivalry with Michigan and entered the game ranked No. 1 in completion percentage at 74.0 percent with a school-record six games over 80 percent. He was 19 of 33 for 175 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, including one in the red zone. Postgame, he apologized to “Buckeye Nation” for letting them down.

“But listen, we still have things in front of us. And we can still run the table and win a national championship,” Howard said.

S Caleb Downs
The sophomore transfer from Alabama was named the Big Ten’s defensive back of the year, becoming the first safety to win the award since Antoine Winfield Jr. of Minnesota in 2019. Downs also had a 79-yard punt return for a TD against Indiana.

WR Jeremiah Smith
The conference’s freshman of the year and receiver of the year broke Cris Carter’s Ohio State freshman records for receptions (57), yards (934) and touchdowns (10).

C Seth McLaughlin
How respected is the graduate transfer from Alabama? He suffered a torn Achilles tendon and missed the final two games but was named First Team All-Big Ten. His loss and the season-ending leg injury to left tackle Josh Simmons in October have crippled the offensive line.

–Field Level Media

Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts (0) celebrates with Notre Dame safety Adon Shuler, right, after a Shuler interception during a NCAA college football game against Virginia at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in South Bend.

Meet the 12 CFP Title Contenders: No. 7 Notre Dame

7. Notre Dame
11-1

What’s next: vs. No. 10 Indiana, Dec. 20, 8 p.m. ET

Head coach: Marcus Freeman (third season, 30-9 overall)

About Freeman: An All-Big Ten linebacker at Ohio State, Freeman was hired as defensive coordinator of the Fighting Irish in 2021 and elevated to the top spot 11 months later when LSU hired Brian Kelly as head coach.

Resume
Any quibble with a one-loss team slotting at No. 7 in the playoff bracket comes down to three letters: N-I-U. The loss in South Bend to the middling MAC team spoiled a legitimate bid for an undefeated regular season that would’ve made it difficult to downplay Notre Dame in the big picture.

The Fighting Irish did beat Texas A&M in College Station. As an independent Notre Dame plays traditional rivalries, went to USC and beat AAC champion Army. That’s not exactly comparable to Georgia’s list of 2024 accomplishments.

Postseason history
Notre Dame is no stranger to the big stage, as it reached the College Football Playoff semifinal two times in the previous six seasons (2018, 2020). Notre Dame last reached the championship game in the 2012 season, when it lost to Nick Saban and Alabama.

The road to Atlanta
To play for the national championship, the Fighting Irish have to beat Indiana in a home playoff game and turn around to take on No. 2 Georgia.

Names to know
QB Riley Leonard
In his first season with Notre Dame, Leonard has shown his dual-threat ability. He has passed for 2,092 yards and 16 touchdowns while throwing only five interceptions. He also has rushed for 721 yards and 14 touchdowns.

RB Jeremiyah Love
Love has a nose for the end zone. The durable running back has racked up a team-high 949 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns, and he has averaged 7.1 yards per carry behind a stout offensive line. Love is capable of pounding in a short run or breaking free for a home-run score.

RB Jadarian Price
Price is overshadowed by Love, but he’s a dynamic runner in his own right. On the season, Price has 651 rushing yards and has averaged 7.3 per carry. He also has rushed for seven touchdowns, which might be enough to lead some teams but puts him third on Notre Dame’s run-heavy roster.

S Xavier Watts
The graduate senior from Omaha won the Bronco Nagurski Award in 2023 as the best defensive player in college football after he led the nation with seven interceptions. This year he has proved dominant yet again. He has five interceptions, including a pick-6, to go along with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

–Field Level Media

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart talks with Georgia quarterback Carson Beck (15) during a football game between Tennessee and Georgia at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023.

Meet the 12 CFP Title Contenders: No. 2 Georgia

2. Georgia Bulldogs
11-2 (6-2 SEC regular season)

What’s next: First-round bye; No. 2 Georgia awaits the winner of the Indiana championship, No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame, in the quarterfinals

Head coach: Kirby Smart (ninth season, 105-18 overall)

About Smart: Perhaps the best head coach in the sport after the retirement of Nick Saban, Smart is 53-4 over the past four seasons. Getting him to smile might be hard but it’s not as difficult as trying to solve one of his defenses. He had 13 career interceptions as a defensive back for the Bulldogs from 1995-98.

Resume
Georgia battered Texas 30-15 in the regular-season meeting, hopping out to a 23-0 halftime lead while administering the beating, and claimed an OT win in the rematch for the SEC Championship. The low moment was getting easily handed 28-10 by Ole Miss in the second week of November.

Postseason history
Georgia won national championships in 2021 and 2022 under the four-team playoff format and lost in 2017. The Bulldogs also won the 1980 national crown with legendary running back Herschel Walker leading the way.

The road to Atlanta
No. 2 Georgia has three weeks to prepare for its first playoff game, a matchup with either No. 10 Indiana or No. 7 Notre Dame. The winner of that game has a semifinals contest with the winner of Boise State and either Penn State or SMU, who must fight it out in the first round to advance.

Names to Know
QB Carson Beck
His health is a major storyline and chief concern for the Bulldogs.

Beck was unable to throw or grip the ball in a strength test at halftime of the SEC Championship game and required an MRI on Sunday.

When Beck was forced out of the game, Gunner Stockton had a few deer-in-headlights moments including an interception in the final minutes of regulation.

CB Malaki Starks
He’s a finalist for the Thorpe Award (top defensive back) and is a top-notch cover corner who regularly shuts down his side of the field.

LB Jalon Walker
Solid blitzer entered the SEC title game with 5.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries while being one of the leaders of the defense.

RB Trevor Etienne
He missed the final three regular-season games due to a rib injury before returning against Texas and the Bulldogs need him healthy to make a deep playoff run.

LB Chaz Chambliss
He joins Walker as a threat to notch a sack and is tied for the team lead with 5.5. Inconsistency is a challenge as he had two sacks against both Florida and Tennessee to go with some underwhelming games.

–Field Level Media